The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced brownfield grants, which may be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum). The proposal submission deadline is November 16, 2017.

Comments on the Changes are Due May 19, 2017

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has proposed amendments to streamline the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process.This proposed update process builds on the modernization of the short and long environmental assessment forms (EAFs) that became effective in October 2013. Comments on the proposed changes are due by May 19, 2017.

Summary and revised regulations targeted for April 2017 release

If you have been following the proposed changes to New York’s 6 NYCRR Part 360 solid waste management regulations, you are aware that the public comment period on the draft regulations closed on September 13, 2016. On October 3rd, 2016 at the New York State Association for Solid Waste Management (NYSASWM) Fall Conference, the NYSDEC Regulatory Team provided a summary of the comments received, some insight on possible revisions, and a possible timeline for issuance of the final regulations.

Food waste prevention, recovery and recycling are a topic of high interest globally, nationally and state-wide. United Nations leaders set a specific target in September 2015 to “halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reduce food losses along production and supply chains by 2030” as part of 17 new comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals (UNDP, 2015). A week prior, the Obama administration set a national reduction food waste goal of 50 percent by 2030 (USDA, 2015).

To meet federal goals and put the U.S. on track of meeting this lofty 2030 goal, both federal and state initiatives will be necessary.